Description

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With more than four thousand entries and over one hundred illustrations, this encyclopedia offers a complete survey of the four major religious traditions of Asia. It is designed not only for students and scholars but also to help general readers find their way through the thicket of unfamiliar words and concepts that are often encountered today in various fields such as the health professions, psychotherapy, the sciences, and the media. Among the subjects covered are:

   •  Important terms such as chakra, karma, koan, nirvana, tantra, Tao, and yin-yang
   •  The lives and teachings of mystics, philosophers, and masters of meditation
   •  Basic texts and scriptures
   •  Sects and schools of thought
   •  Mythological figures and events


In addition, pronunciation tables, a comprehensive bibliography, and a Ch'an/Zen Lineage Chart are provided.

About the Author

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Shambhala Publications is dedicated to creating books, audio, and immersive courses aimed at improving lives—in ways big and small—in the hope of contributing to the development of a thoughtful, kindhearted, and contemplative society.

Praise For…

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"This valuable reference work is the result of a monumental effort to bring together in a form accessible to English readers the basic terminology and doctrinal systems of the four great wisdom teachings of the East: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, and Zen. . . . The Encyclopedia is clearly written, items are cross-referenced, and when a concept is given a different meaning by different traditions, each interpretation is provided for the reader. . . . A necessary reference book for everyone's bookshelf."—Karuna



"Very satisfying . . . A certain reverence to the Eastern traditions on the part of the writers seeps through every page of this admirable volume. One comes to love it."—The Advent

"A useful—indeed essential—source of just the kind of authoritative information any knowledgeable person needs in the post-secular era of today. The material is judiciously selected and helpfully organized for ready access."—Professor Harvey Cox, Harvard Divinity School



"This is a work no student of religion can dispense with. It is a highly professional, specialized, yet broadly informative book one needs for frequent consultation on such topics as the Lotus School, Nagarjuna, Zen Buddhism, Vasubandhu, or I Ching . The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion covers in depth a very large number of entries, from the most general to the very specialistic, being a necessary tool in the orientation of a broad audience within the fascinating yet unfamiliar land of Eastern religions. It is an excellent instrument of knowledge for an essentially pluralistic age."—Ioan P. Couliano, author of Out of This World